In general, a sphygmomanometer or a cuff having a pressure sensor for blood pressure measurement is composed of a wearable tube with a certain length. The tube forms an internal space to be filled with air and equipped with a small motor pump at one side of the tube. In order to determine blood pressure, a cuff is normally placed around an upper arm to pressure the measurement site of the arm and about 180 mmHg air is injected into the cuff. As the pressure in the cuff falls, a pressure sensor measures blood pressures at the periods of cardiac contraction and cardiac dilation.
The followings are examples of prior arts:
According to Korean Utility Model Gazette 1990-0007450 (published dated Aug. 18, 1990), “a cuff system for measuring blood pressure” is directed to a sphygmomanometer for a finger by pressuring an artery of the finger. The cuff system comprises a cuff for pressuring a human body (i.e. finger), a photoelectric device placed in the pressured air of the cuff to detect a pulse signal, a signal transfer part that transfers the pulse signal to an electronic circuit part of the cuff by connecting one side of the signal transfer part to the photoelectric device and connecting the other side of the signal transfer part to the electronic circuit part, wherein the signal transfer part further comprises a flexible substrate having a conductor pattern on its substrate. As the cuff is pressured, the flexible substrate contracts and expands in the vertical direction. Thus, the signal transfer part is not affected by a tensile load when connecting the pulse signal to the electronic circuit part.
According to Korean Patent Laid-open Gazette 10-2005-0107506 (published dated Nov. 11, 2005), “a cuff for measuring blood pressure and a sphygmomanometer including the same” is directed to providing blood pressure measurement by simply setting up the winding condition of the cuff according to the thickness of a measuring site. Said technology comprises a plurality of marks to display the winding condition of the cuff according to the perimeter length of the measuring site, and a window frame member that selectively indicates one mark from the plurality of marks. The cuff part where the plurality of marks is formed slides between the warped surface of the cuff part where the window frame member is adhered and the window frame member. In that way, one mark is selectively displayed through the window frame member. Thus, the winding condition (the diameter of the cylindrical form of the cuff) of the cuff according to the perimeter length (the thickness) of the measuring site is simply controlled by setting up the window frame member.
According to Korean Patent Gazette 10-0666807 (announced dated Jan. 9, 2007), “a cuff for blood pressure measuring system and a blood pressure measuring system having the cuff” comprises a fluid part where the fluid expands and contracts in the thickness direction as the fluid part moves in and out. The fluid part includes a first bag positioned in the outer side of the thickness direction having a first expansion and contraction portions internally when the cuff is installed on an organism, and a second bag positioned in the inner side of the thickness direction having a second expansion and contraction portions internally when the cuff is installed on the organism. The second bag superposes a single-layered sheet shape member of the first bag. The bag is formed by welding the periphery to the surface of the organism. The sheet shape member and its junction are internally located on both end portions of the first expansion and contraction portions.
According to Korean Patent Gazette 10-10106220 (announced dated Feb. 28, 2011), “a device for blood pressure measurement” comprises a measurement unit that periodically measures blood pressure and wirelessly transmits the measured blood pressure, and a storage unit separated from the measurement unit to record the measured blood pressure that is wirelessly transmitted by the measurement unit. The measurement unit further comprises an attach unit having a shape of a wrist attachable band, a tape, or a wristwatch and multiple blood pressure measurement units to be combined in the attach unit. The multiple blood pressure measurement units are equipped with a pressure sensor comprising a first electrode layer, a first insulation part, a second electrode layer, a second insulation part, and a conductor. The storage unit includes a transmission part that converts a measured capacitance change into a resonant frequency, a power supply, a frequency detection part, a translation part, and a memory storage unit.
According to Korean Patent Gazette 10-1081659 (announced dated Nov. 9, 2011), “an auto-diagnostic blood manometer” comprises a pressure control sensor to control air pressure of a cuff to measure blood pressure, a pulse measurement sensor, a central control unit that processes measured data that is transmitted by the pressure control sensor and the pulse measurement sensor. The central control unit is capable of displaying high, normal, or low blood pressures based on the measurement data transmitted by the pressure control sensor. The central control unit is also capable of displaying pulse measurements of vein, arrhythmia, pyknocardia, or bradyrhythmia based on the measured data transmitted by the pulse measurement sensor. The cuff can display the results of measurement data via text and simultaneously store and transmit the results of measurement data.
As explained above, most of the cuffs for blood pressure measurement system are composed of a tube that is filled with an air, an air motor pump to control air pressure, and additional means. Thus, in order to measure blood pressure by a blood pressure sensor, an operator has to perform an action of winding the cuff around measuring site, injecting air into the tube to pressure the measuring site, and reducing the air pressure by the pressure of the expanding cuff after pressuring the measuring site. These procedures are likely complicated and cumbersome for the operators.
Although some cuffs are formed after a band or tape, those cuffs require an operator to manually wrap the band or tape around the measuring site to measure blood pressure. Moreover, there have been difficulties in carrying those cuffs.
Especially for hypertensive patients who are required to measure their blood pressures frequently or in the long-term, operating such procedures is inconvenient and cumbersome.